The Top of The Mountain a serial by Scott Walker

A mountain top becomes a symbol for the struggle a man faces as he loses his wife to cancer.

Sunrise - The sun came up over the peak of the highest mountain in the valley. The very tip of the highest mount, bathed in sunlight from the rising sun, danced in the glow of heat. A bit of snow, covering the tops of the highest peaks, seemed to shrink from the bright rays of the sun. At a glance, the silhouette of the sun created an infinite number of w's and v's out of the mountain-tops. 

the last stop before the top - The chemotherapy started five weeks after that day in the "little room with the magazines". John noticed that people stared at Amber when she walked the streets after the fist couple of sessions of the chemotherapy. It was possible that they were very curious why a beautiful woman would be bald, but, either way their looks made Amber embarrassed and she felt more alone in her battle.